Short Food Supply Networks: Expectations, Experiences, Trust in the Case of Farmers Markets

Farmers Markets are receiving an increasing attention by both food chains actors and social
scientists. Economic and sociological studies are contributing to the comprehension of these
forms of exchange. Both consumers and producers are fostering their expectations about the
renewal of a mode of exchange which sustained local production-consumptions linkages. The
main economic function of these organizational structures seems to be the reduction of the price
paid by the consumers and the enhancements of allocation of farm products. The basic interpretation
of these forms of exchange focuses on market structure, nonetheless the exchange relationships
seem to emphasize several dimensions, including economic and cultural aspects.
The objective of the paper is of investigating the role of networks among producers and consumers
in structuring and making viable the Farmer Markets as structures of short food supply
chains. The basic idea is that the strength of Farmer Markets is the ability of satisfying the consumer
expectations about a few characteristics of the products, entailing given cultural and economic
aspects. The study argues that under this view the Farmer Markets may be thought of as
a emerging form of production-consumption interaction. According to existing evidences it is
suggested that the network is also the emerging forms of horizontal relationships among the producer
participants to the markets. The paper aims at suggesting that basic types of trust act as
key factor in structuring the networks and in promoting the stability of the market.